New Delhi, Apr 28 (PTI)

Chief Justice of India (CJI) N V Ramana and Chief Justices (CJs) of all the 25 high courts would take part in the 39th CJs' conference here on Friday to address issues concerning the judiciary ranging from appointments of judges in high courts to strengthening network and connectivity at all court complexes pan India.

Also Read | Heatwave in India: Health Experts Warn of Rise in Heat-Related Ailments, Ask People to Take Precautions.

The Chief Justices' conference, which would be attended by two senior-most apex court judges --Justices U U Lalit and A M Khanwilkar-- in a programme to be held in the apex court premises, will be followed by the joint conference of the chief ministers and the chief justices at Vigyan Bhawan on Saturday which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the apex court said in a statement.

Both the conferences are being held after a gap of six years at the initiative of CJI Ramana who along with the other dignitaries will review the progress made on the resolutions passed in the previous CJ's conference, 2016, and also to consider further steps that need to be taken to improve the justice delivery system, it said.

Also Read | West Bengal Govt Announces Plan to Accommodate Ukraine-returned Students in State Colleges.

The CJs conference, 2022 would deal with the major issues including “strengthening of the network and connectivity at all court complexes pan India on priority basis and human Resources/personnel policy- need of district courts.”

The CJI, who has been quite vocal about the poor buildings in district courts, would also delve into the problem of infrastructure and capacity building besides “institutional and legal reforms” needed to strengthen the justice delivery system.

The CJs' conference would also discuss the appointment of high court judges and expediting the process of recommendations of appointment, it said.

This issue assumes significance since in the last year, a total of 192 candidates for the judgeship in high courts have been recommended and out of these, 126 have already been appointed on the recommendations of the collegium headed by the present CJI.

“The conference will inter alia, delve into issues governing: The development of IT infrastructure for district court; a permanent cadre of computer officials for IT needs of district courts; transmission of ordered and judgements through e-mail to all stakeholders; use of artificial intelligence technology in judicial matters for quick disposal, etc,” the statement said.

The CJs' conference would discuss the issue of “efficient human resources management and augmentation of the strength of judicial officers and subordinate staff in district courts”.

“Establishment of National Judicial Infrastructure Authority and the state Judicial Infrastructure Authorities as special purpose vehicles at the central and state levels for the development of Infrastructure in District courts” would also be discussed, it said.

The august gathering would discuss methods to institutionalise the “pre-litigation mediation” and set up a robust mechanism for the Alternate Disputes Redressal mechanism, it said.

The CJI, in one of the first communications to the Chief Justices of High Courts last June, had raised the issue of vacancies in HCs and had requested the CJs to expedite the process of recommending names for elevation. PTI SJK

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)